Grey Power votes to continue with Electoral Finance Act lawsuit

Winston may have given them free bus tickets at off-peak times (not a bad initiative actually), but he won’t be so happy with the fact they are taking his precious Electoral Finance Act to court. The Herald reports:

Grey Power has rejected a New Zealand First member’s bid to stop it challenging the controversial electoral finance legislation in court.

The older persons’ lobby group has joined the Sensible Sentencing Trust and Electoral Finance Act opponent John Boscawen in a High Court challenge made against the new law when it was in its “draconian” bill form.

New Zealand First supported the law change, which limits third party spending on election advertising.

At Grey Power’s national meeting in Christchurch this week, the federation’s involvement in the court action was tested by one of its own.

Jens Meder, a senior New Zealand First member and representative for the Auckland Grey Power Association, put forward a remit arguing it was wrong for the national federation to be a party to the court action.

His remit was “almost unanimously” rejected, said Grey Power federation secretary Bill Atkinson.

I can’t wait for the election campaign. Winston will be asked about the EFA at every meeting in Tauranga, and he will also be asked about the $158,000 his party has not repaid to the taxpayer.  Add on the many baubles of office he said he would reject, and well his free bus fares policy may get lost in the noise.